Our View: Support Putnam’s new library project

On Monday, Putnam voters will decide whether the town should spend $300,000 to purchase 1.2 acres from the B’nai Shakin Synagogue. The land is the preferred site of the Library Exploratory Building Committee for a new library.

Monday’s vote, however, is only for the land purchase and not a referendum on the overall proposed $7.8 million library project. A referendum on the project itself will be held early next year.

The building committee has done its due diligence, studying five different options before bringing this current proposal to residents for their approval, and we urge voters to approve the land purchase Monday.

There is a little argument that a new library is needed. The current library is too small to adequately meet the needs of the community and is not handicapped accessible. The new library would be 18,000 square feet and include two meeting rooms -- the larger with a 120 person capacity and a smaller 30-person room -- computer lab, dedicated space for private tutoring and second floor area for teens and younger children programs.

There is some disagreement, however, on whether the proposed site is the best location for a new library. Parking is one issue that’s been raised and there’s been suggestions that the library project should be incorporated into a yet-to-be developed municipal building proposal.

The plan before voters would include 75 parking spaces, which is more than adequate for a building of that size.

Rejecting this land purchase in order to consider including the library in a larger municipal proposal will only further delay this project. A defeat at the polls Monday would mean having to re-start the planning process from scratch, and with no assurances that a better plan would or could be developed.

Last month the town was awarded a $1 million grant from the state Library Commission -- the maximum amount available -- to help offset the project’s cost based on the current proposal.

Clearly, this plan has merit and the community will be well served by approving the land purchase at Monday’s referendum.